Co-Teaching, Paraeducator Roles, and Math Access
Ms. Ramos and Mr. Chen co-teach a fifth-grade math class of 28 students, 6 with IEPs. Mr. Chen, the special educator, typically sits at the back table and works only with the six students on a below-grade worksheet while Ms. Ramos teaches the grade-level lesson. A paraeducator, Mr. Lee, has been asked to teach the lesson to a small group and to grade quizzes using the general answer key. Ava, a student with a specific learning disability in math, has an IEP listing preferential seating, extended time, and a calculator. She can compute multi-step problems with a calculator but scores 40% on word problems; her IEP goal says she will solve two-step word problems with 80% accuracy. Recent unit tests show 35%, 42%, and 38%. The principal wants to “move Ava to the resource room for math” because inclusion is “not working.” Ms. Ramos says the co-teaching model is fine.
1. Evaluate the co-teaching and paraeducator practices. What changes would you recommend?
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The current model is not co-teaching; it is a parallel remedial track. Mr. Chen is functioning as an aide for six students, and the below-grade worksheet is a modification that reduces access to grade-level content. Mr. Lee, the paraeducator, should not be the primary instructor for a small group or the sole grader of quizzes; paraprofessionals can support instruction under teacher direction but should not make instructional decisions or assign grades. Recommended changes include co-planning time at least twice weekly, shared ownership of the grade-level lesson, and structures such as station teaching, parallel teaching, or alternative teaching in which both teachers work with heterogeneous groups. The special educator should co-design scaffolds and review data for all students. Mr. Lee should be trained and supervised to deliver practice, collect data, and support behavior, not to replace the teacher. The principal’s proposal to move Ava should be evaluated only after the instructional model and IEP supports have been implemented with fidelity.
2. Distinguish accommodations from modifications in Ava’s case and propose an instructional plan, including how to decide whether to change placement.
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Preferential seating, extended time, and a calculator are accommodations: they change how Ava accesses grade-level content without changing what she is expected to learn. The below-grade worksheet is a modification because it changes the content and lowers expectations. Ava’s plan should keep grade-level word-problem standards while adding explicit schema instruction, vocabulary support, worked examples, visual representations, and guided practice with feedback. The calculator can remain an accommodation, but the team should also teach estimation and mental-math strategies so she is not dependent on it. Progress should be monitored twice weekly on her IEP goal using brief two-step word-problem probes. Before changing placement, the team should verify that the co-teaching and accommodations were actually delivered and that instruction was effective. If Ava still makes insufficient progress after six to eight weeks of faithful implementation, the IEP team should reconvene and consider more intensive services, such as a co-taught math lab or resource support, while maintaining the least restrictive environment.